These cucumbers are soooo good! Crispy and with a distinct Asian flavor from the sesame oil and sesame seeds, they go with a variety of different cuisine types. This recipe, with minor modifications, is from The Cook's Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbeque.
This recipe works great with many different combinations of oil and vinegars. Experiment!
Directions
Peel and slice the cucumbers lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape the seeds out and then cut the cucumbers in 1/4? slices crosswise.
Toss the cucumber slices with 1 TBSP of kosher salt per cucumber. Place the cucumbers in a colander, place the colander in the sink and then press the cucumbers by placing a 1 gallon Ziploc storage bag filled with water on top of the cucumbers. Allow to drain for 1-2 hours.
Rinse the cucumbers very thoroughly in cold water and then in a glass bowl, toss with:
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Chill and serve, or serve immediately.
Kids!
The kids can peel, seed and slice the cucumbers, fill the water bag (watch out!), and make the sauce.
Notes...
These are fabulous cucumbers and the recipe is easily scaleable to small and large batches. Part of the key is to have very crispy cucumbers, and you get that by squeezing as much of the moisture out of the cucumbers as possible. Salting the cucumbers causes moisture to move out of the cucumber cells, and the weight of the water bag will force the water out of the cucumbers and through the colander. Don't use too much salt and rinse well after pressing.